


Bringing It to the Boiling Point

by Ride_Forever



Category: due South
Genre: Community: older_not_dead, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Older Characters, Older Not Dead prompt-a-thon, Pre-Slash, Triple Drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-30
Updated: 2013-11-30
Packaged: 2018-01-03 01:12:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1063907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ride_Forever/pseuds/Ride_Forever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The absence of Fraser troubles Kowalski, and the absence of Kowalski troubles Fraser...and something is brewing between them that's about to reach the boiling point.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bringing It to the Boiling Point

**Author's Note:**

> AN #1 : Written for the Older_Not_Dead prompt-a-thon with the theme of h/c and using the following five prompts (which maybe makes this a kind of "5 Things" fic) : “As his eyesight continued to worsen.” – “It was the old injury, the bullet in the back.” – “Live for you, die for you.” – “Not a permanent solution.” – “The day as it ends.”
> 
> AN #2 : TYK to ButterflyGhost for cheerleading and for beta.

More than 14,600 days so far in Ray Kowalski’s life… and now each day as it ends is one more day with no permanent solution to what troubles him : Benton Fraser troubles him...rather, the absence of Benton Fraser troubles him. Kowalski’s eyesight has always been bad and it’s getting worse with age, but in his dreams it’s too sharp. Kowalski, sleeping alone in Chicago, dreams he is with Fraser and sees every detail of what was, and every detail of what could have been but isn’t. He awakens alone into an out-of-focus world.

More than 14,600 days so far in Benton Fraser’s life… and now each day as it ends is one more day with no permanent solution to what troubles him : Ray Kowalski troubles him...rather, the absence of Ray Kowalski troubles him. Fraser, sleeping alone in the Northwest Territories, dreams sometimes of the old injury, the bullet in the back from his first Ray…and dreams sometimes of the punch from his second Ray’s fist, more pain there than the merely physical. Easier to die for love, harder to live for it.

Stella had read -- back in the day when Kowalski had access to what Stella was reading -- an Audrey Hepburn biography. Audrey Hepburn said “When you have nobody you can make a cup of tea for, that’s when I think life is over.” Ray isn’t keen on life being over, and he sure as hell does have somebody to make a cup of tea for.

There is a language of flowers and of plants. Fraser is a polyglot -- when the tea chest from Chicago arrives at his detachment, he understands the language : an offer of comfort in a cup of tea…and an offer to bring something other than tea to the boiling point.


End file.
